The Human Risk Podcast

How can Behavioural Science help museums to encourage more visitors?In this episode, I speak to Professor Tom Schössler who is the Managing Director of the Weserburg Museum of International Contemporary Art. For links to references I made during the show see the end of these notes. Tom was responsible for conducting an interesting Behavioural Science experiment to see how a change in the pricing structure, impacted visitor numbers and perception of his museum. For more on that: https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/article/what-weve-learned-car-parks-about-boosting-attendanceWhat Tom had to say about the experiment was really interesting and it highlights a real challenge of Behavioural Science; to work out whether something works, you need to experiment. And that takes courage. The lessons from this are fascinating.What the experiment illustrates is the power of behavioural interventions; if we want to change behaviour, then changing people's perceptions is a powerful tool to do that. The lessons we can learn from this don't just apply to Museums. They also apply to other fields like Risk, Compliance and HR.We recorded this before the Coronavirus lockdown, but obviously the challenge of getting visitors through the door once the crisis is over is going to be even more acute than before.As this series progresses, I’m looking to bring you different voices you won’t have heard before, alongside academics and Behavioural Science practitioners. A museum director fits that bill perfectly.For more on the Museum visit their website: https://weserburg.de/en/visit/The local items I mentioned in my introduction are:Werder Bremen football club: https://www.werder.de/enBrauerei Beck: https://becks.de/The Town Musicians of Bremen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_Musicians_of_Bremen

How will companies be held to account for their actions under COVID?On this episode, I speak with Pooj Morjaria, the founder of www.didtheyhelp.com, a website that tracks the good and bad things that companies and public figures are doing during the Coronavirus.We talk about the genesis of the website, how it is populated and some of the challenges he faces in running it. We also explore what the Ethical challenges of recording other people's ethical decision-making.For more on "Did They Help" visit the website at www.didtheyhelp.comYou can also find them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/didtheyhelp

On this episode, I speak with Steve Martin and Joe Marks, the authors of a book called Messengers: Who We Listen To, Who We Don't and Why. For more on the book, to see videos of key concepts it contains and to take a test to see what kind of Messenger you are, visit the website: https://www.messengersthebook.com/On the show, we talk about Robert Cialdini. You can find out more about him here: https://www.influenceatwork.com/

This episode is the audio recording from a webinar I co-hosted with Ruth Steinholtz on "Managing Ethics in a Disrupted World". Our aim in hosting it was to highlight the fact that in the current environment, ethical issues are more likely to arise. Many decisions currently being made, can have ethical consequences that are not immediately obvious in the short-term. We explore why this is the case and what individuals and organisations can do about improving the likelihood of making better ethical decisions.For more about Ruth, who also featured in Episode 7 of this podcast, visit https://aretework.com/To discuss any of the issues raised in the episode, do get in touch.

What do you do when you think your government isn't doing enough to protect you from the risk of COVID-19? On this episode, I speak to Eggsy, a 22-year-old graphic design student. She noticed that her friends weren't following the UK Government advice on Social Distancing to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and wanted to do something. That something was the creation of a cartoon that explained the rationale behind the advice. The cartoon went viral.You can see it for yourself here: https://youtu.be/6BhA9Kxd0mEThe techniques she deploys in the video are extremely engaging and illustrate an intuitive understanding of Behavioural Science. I wanted to understand what inspired Eggsy to produce the video, what the ideas behind the content were and to find out about what happened after she released it. We discussed all of those things...and a host of other things I wasn't expecting to talk about, but which were equally inspiring.You can see more of Eggsy's work on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfLYB890iZh-0ECMMZ0y56A) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itsjusteggsy/). For more on The Adulthood Academy, Eggsy's new project, which we discuss on the episode, visit https://www.instagram.com/theadulthoodacademy/ or http://www.theadulthoodacademy.com/

This episode of the Human Risk podcast isn't really an episode of the Human Risk podcast. It's the very first episode of a new podcast called "Behind The Spine". But it is about Human Risk. Mark Heywood, who featured on episode 19 of the Human Risk podcast, is the host of a show targeted at writers and helps them find learning opportunities in the most unlikely of places.One of the main ways we make sense of the world around us is through stories. Whether that’s children’s fairytales that help shape our perspective on the world or the stories we tell ourselves and others to justify the decisions we make. We’re not short of examples of politicians and others using creative storytelling to justify their actions.So if we can better understand stories, we can better understand behaviour. On this first episode, you'll be able to hear a familiar voice talking about Human Risk.For more on Behind The Spine, visit the podcast website: https://bit.ly/2XB9as5.You can subscribe to Behind The Spine on all the usual podcast platforms.

What do we mean by Ethics & why does it matter?On this episode, I speak with Alison Taylor who is the Executive Director of Ethical Systems, a collaboration based at NYU Stern School of Business. She works on challenges at the intersection of corporate integrity, risk and responsibility.You can follow Alison on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FollowAlisonTAlison is also a senior adviser to BSR (https://www.bsr.org/) a global nonprofit business network and consultancy dedicated to sustainability.We explore how the virus is bringing ethical questions to the fore and look at how companies and individuals try to manage this complicated subject.We began the episode by talking about Alison’s background and how she came to be interested in the subject of ethics.

On this episode I speak to Jez Groom and April Vellacott, the authors of a new BeSci book called "Ripple". Jez and April talk about their journeys in BeSci, provide some fascinating insights from their book and we finish with a discussion about the Behavioural aspects of teh Coronavirus.Ripple is published by Harriman House and is available from all good booksellers. To read more about the book, you can visit the dedicated microsite: https://www.cowryconsulting.com/ripple-bookJez and April work for Cowry, a BeSci Consulting Firm (www.cowryconsulting.com)You can read more about them here:https://www.cowryconsulting.com/consultants/jez-groomhttps://www.cowryconsulting.com/consultants/april-vellacott

On this episode, I speak with Alix Hope who is a Creative Strategist for design agency Bompas & Parr. They are Taste Architects who specialise, amongst other things, in immersive events.Given the changes the Coronavirus has brought on our lifestyles and the new behaviours we are being required to adapt, Bompass & Parr recently released a report called Fluid Landscapes. This explores what is happening and what might happen as we shift perspectives from the freely flowing behaviours of a world without Coronavirus, to a world that has forcibly embraced fresh routines .Alix is the report's author and joins me to talk about it and what they are predicting for the new world we'll be living in.You can read more about Bompas & Parr on their website: www.bompasandparr..comDetails of the Creative Landscapes launch event on 8th April at 1600 UK time are available on their Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-hngM-ngNi/.You can follow them there: @bompasandparr

This episode is a Crosscast with the All Things Risk podcast.A Crosscast is where two podcasters cone together to release a joint episode. Here I combine with Ben Cattaneo to create the All Things Human Risk podcast.You can learn more about Ben on Episode 20 of the Human Risk podcast.In our discussion we talk about how the changes forced on us by the Coronavirus are impacting us, what that means from a behavioural perspective and what we can do to cope with the changes.Some of the things we discuss on the show:Atul Gawande Checklist ManifestoMan in plague mask on BBCNYTimes Front PageHBR article on griefConspiracy theories and coronavirus You’ll find the All Things Risk podcast here: www.allthingsrisk.co.uk